While I can't say comments just don't matter to me, I certainly can't say I write for them. I write to put my thoughts out there, almost like an online diary, sometimes they're fair and sometimes they're not, comments can be great motivators though, particularly in rough times. Being reminded that there might be people out there that want to read your ramblings is certainly a nice thing.

I think this pretty much sums up my MO for writing - a personal account that I enjoy writing and hope that a few people might also enjoy reading. Not always necessary for feedback on "romg I dinged 40 on my alt!" but for a major event (good or bad!) it's nice to have even one voice of support.

I don't completely agree with

Holly wrote:

for me to comment I feel like I should have something to contribute other than "I agree!" or "I disagree simply due to opinion!"

because sometimes even those can be a little voice of support a blogger needs to hear. I think it might be advisable to add a few sentences saying why or why not, but if you don't have the time/inclination to do so even a sentence may suffice. And drive up the comment count!

I really enjoy writing up my posts. Doing this series of retrospectives about Vanilla, BC, and Wrath has really surprised me in the fact that I can write posts 1900+ words long and still be coherent at the end!

Comments are really awesome, and I admit that I check my site stats daily to see how many people are checking my site out. At first I would be lucky to get a pageview a week, now I'm averaging around 20 per day, and I only update 2-3 times per week.

It just feels good when people actually want to read your ramblings.

_________________Corath's Blog: randomness about World of Warcraft and beyond!

It does, there's really no denying that. I do try to respond to every comment on both my blogs, and well I did just do a massive redesign that wouldn't really matter to me given I use software to write my posts (I so rarely actually visit the site, which is why it took me *expletive deleted* months to find out my RSS feed links were wrong.

Though sometimes people's obsessions with page hits and comments...is scary. Not saying anybody here is this way, I barely know any of you =^-^= but some I read are prone to throwing hissy fits if they don't get a comment and that can get old....really fast.

I actually start to feel bad when I don't post something for a few days, and I'll be watching my stats feed (damn you WassUp) and feel horribly guilty immediately after. Like "Oh, people visiting! And I..... don't have anything new. ><"

I don't care about getting comments, but I won't lie that it helps the ego when I do. I care more about getting content out than I do about my own self-gratification. Plus the emails and ingame tells makes up for it all. Which, in turn, makes me feel more guilty about post-procrastination.

It's a vicious cycle, it is. Which reminds me... the guilt storm is rolling in.

for me to comment I feel like I should have something to contribute other than "I agree!" or "I disagree simply due to opinion!"

because sometimes even those can be a little voice of support a blogger needs to hear. I think it might be advisable to add a few sentences saying why or why not, but if you don't have the time/inclination to do so even a sentence may suffice. And drive up the comment count!

I hear ya! Even though I do get a decent number of comments, I still get an "ooooh shiny!" rush at every new one, even when they're just agreeing with me.

I do try to leave a "grats" whenever I see a recent accomplishment post because I do know how good it feels, especially when you're first starting out and feeling like you're talking to a big, empty room.

Holly wrote:

Though sometimes people's obsessions with page hits and comments...is scary. Not saying anybody here is this way, I barely know any of you =^-^= but some I read are prone to throwing hissy fits if they don't get a comment and that can get old....really fast.

I used to read those kind of blogs just for the drama factor. ^_^

I haven't seen that attitude much among WoW bloggers. Since we have a very narrow focus, it takes awhile for most of us to build a readership, so those obsessed with hits and comments are burn themselves out really fast.

If it's any reassurance to those of you who feel you aren't getting anywhere, hits, suscribers, comments and reputation vary in pattern from blogger to blogger. Some narrow niche yet opinionated blogs get 30 comments within an hour of posting, but their hits and subscriptions numbers will be low. Other blogs will proudly display their obscene number of subscribers, but their straightforward, factual posts won't attract many comments. As for reputation, there a few bloggers who are really involved in the community but who actually don't get much attention on their blog. I also saw two bloggers compare hits and google subscribers once, and the blog who got over 1000 hits a day only had about 250 subscribers while the blog with less than 300 hits a day had over 500 subscribers.

So overall, the type of reader (occasional vs subcriber) and vocality of your readers will depend on your content, posting frequency and personality. And you might be a well known and respected member of the community even though your blog tends to be a bit on the quiet side. It's nearly impossible to win a popularity contest in every category

_________________Say what you want, *I* know the best weapon will always be the Giant Spoon.

I know what you mean. I'm a fairly new blog in the grand scheme of things, and when you're starting out, it's really nice to get even a small comment asking a simple question, or even just letting you know "Hey! I read your stuff!" It's a great feeling. The first comment I ever got on my blog was, ironically, a reader pointing out a poorly worded sentence which conveyed my point wrong. Since then I've become a bit anal about always trying to stay on topic, and word things properly (although I think I probably fail about as often as I suceed).

If you read a blog regularly, there's really no reason to NOT post a comment from time to time. Even if you don't feel strongly about an issue, your comment can be the one that gets the blogger excited/ motivated and keeps them writing.

I must admit I spend a bit of time analyzing my stats page on my blog. Not just for the total hits, but also the "conversions" and the sources. I like to see where my readers are coming from and (as much as I can from my stats) where they're going. Wordpress graciously tells us where links are that got clicked to reach our blog, and what search terms found it. This helps me know what keyword combinations work in the search engines and also who to give shout outs to when I'm linked on their blog (hence my previous BA/MMOmeltingpot one here). I otherwise wouldn't necessarily know where readers come from. As for the "conversions", I'm more interesting in seeing one person read several posts than multiple people who look and leave. If I have 3 views from links clicked and 4 from search terms, yet I have 25 views on the day (and more than 7 posts visited) I can see that people like what they're seeing enough to look at more. That is success to me.

Also, I like to see what links they are clicking on, another handy wordpress feature. It lets me know they at least read far enough to see my referred blogs link and hopefully its helping someone else get viewers. Postcards from Azeroth and Shammylove (both I found here on BA) get several clicks per week from my blog, which I like seeing good blogs get more views.

I'm sorry if I'm bringing a dead thread back to life--It's a little older, but I wanted to add my comment.

I started my blog because I want to be a writer. I find writing for websites and magazines limiting mainly because of meeting word count requirements (I tend to be long-winded) and trying to tailor a writing assignment to fit the topic. With a blog, I can write about whatever topic I wish with no limit to how many words I use. I mainly want to write about WoW, but if I want to write an off-topic post about real-life occasionally, that's acceptable as well.

My blog is still in it's infancy, so any new comment or a spike in traffic is a thrill for me. I link my blog to my facebook page, so many of the people who are normal readers are friends of mine. They tend to post comments on Facebook instead of the blog, which is fine. I am thrilled when I get a comment from someone who has just discovered my blog and wanted to say "hi" or comment on a post. I also feel guilty when I don't post every day or every other day at least. I am trying to build up a readership, and if I don't stay fresh that will not happen.

If you would like to look at my blog, it's over at thewyrmsfire.blogspot.com. I have fallen into a lull of posting due to various reasons: work, school, family, and then actually playing WoW.

I try to write an article, then get distracted, then come back and dont like what I have written and trash it.

I'm also very disappointed in the way my blog looks. I dont know anything about graphics or stuff like that, so it's very bare bones. I have done a recent redesign of the site, so feel free to comment about it on the About Me section.

I've been blogging since Sep 2008 and from the start I told myself I was simply going to do it for the pleasure. I love to talk about subjects that interest me but I didn't necessarily want to turn my blogging into a job. I already spent a great deal of time playing MMOs and wasn't sure I wanted to make the time investment that I know many other popular bloggers must. I didn't even track my analytics until just these last couple months. But these past few months I've had a change of heart and have decided I really do want to "grow" my blog readerbase. If for nothing else to get those comments that might lead to additional discussion. I haven't become despondent that I haven't garnered more comments before now because I know I could have done things to change that but hadn't. Where there's a will, there is always a way.

Hi I actually felt the same way, in my post "Dear Reader" last 2yrs ago Nov. 2009, i totally understand where your coming from, my blog was totally lack of focus and really don't know where i should start and what to blog about because obviously just the title of my blog its obviously not a wow catchy name at all, just my first name ...I know i almost quit blogging but i did not just stop there, I continue and just talk mostly about anything I experienced in game, and guess what after 3-5months at least I gained friends, bloggers and they drop by and comment 1-2comments or 0comments it's okay with me at least I give my best in posting topics I like to share.. I was thankful and totally appreciate it, it does take sometime to find readers... but you did a good job in finding a place to start with here in Blog Azeroth. =) so just keep up the good work hon.

P.S Just this topic alone, you actually got 2pages of comments already! hehe.

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